1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for treatment of mammals by draining lymph. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of draining lymph by the application of pulsating light to the body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lymph is a viscous liquid, i.e., blood plasma, which transports nutritional substances to the cells in the body and drains waste products from the cells. Sometimes lymph circulation is disturbed or interrupted, which may lead to cells dying.
Until recently, drainage of lymph was performed manually in order to help the circulation of lymph within the human body. Drainage of lymph is performed using light pump-like massage movements over the body. Such movements are circle-like or have a spiral shape. By those movements one tries to drive the lymph in a correct flow direction. By influencing the transport of lymph in a positive way, waste products within the body can be removed faster.
It is considered especially important that excess proteins in cell membranes be removed, because such proteins bind liquid to the body, with the result that the body swells up.
The drainage of lymph also influences the autonomous nervous system and provides a state of comfort in a patient.
The inventor of the present invention has developed an apparatus for transmitting monochromatic light for medical treatment of the body. That apparatus and its use and benefits are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,233, entitled xe2x80x9cDevice for Wound Healing by Means of Light,xe2x80x9d which issued on Jun. 16, 1998, to Rolf Thiberg; U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,479, entitled xe2x80x9cDevice for Medical External Treatment by Means of Light, which issued on Sep. 1, 1998, to Rolf Thiberg; U.S. Pat. No. D441,456 S, entitled xe2x80x9cSkin Treatment Lamp,xe2x80x9d which issued on May 1, 2001, to Rolf Thiberg; U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,424 B1, entitled xe2x80x9cDevice for External Treatment with Pulsating Light of High Duty Cycle,xe2x80x9d which issued on May 29, 2001, to Rolf Thiberg; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,425 B1, entitled xe2x80x9cDevice for External Medical Treatment with Monochromatic Light,xe2x80x9d which issued on May 29, 2001, to Rolf Thiberg. That treatment device has been used for treatment of wounds and pain in humans and animals. The monochromatic light is transmitted with a certain pulse repetition frequency and with a duty cycle of from about 60% to about 90%.
It has now surprisingly been discovered that a treatment using monochromatic light can be successfully employed for lymph drainage.
The present invention thus relates to a method for draining lymph from the human or animal body by the use of a device that emits pulsating light. The device emits pulsating infrared light that pulses at a low pulse repetition frequency. In use, the light-emitting device is brought into contact with the body and is moved along the pathways of the lymph flow in a direction toward the lymphatic gland to which the pathway of the lymph vessel in question leads.